2025-06-19
News Categories : Committee News
At the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) meeting held yesterday (Jun. 18), it was revealed that the North Central Provincial Council had carried out the rehabilitation of 53 roads damaged by floods in 2011 based on an additional estimate of Rs. 1,170 million. This fact was later discovered during an investigation conducted in 2013 by a team of engineers from the University of Peradeniya, which also revealed that the construction of these roads lacked proper standards, leading to the suspension of payments to the contractors, according to officials.
These revelations were made during the COPA meeting chaired by Hon. MP Aravinda Senarath, convened in Parliament yesterday (18) to discuss the 2023 Auditor General’s report and the current performance of the North Central Provincial Council. The Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, the Chief Secretary of the North Central Province, and several officials from the North Central Provincial Council participated in the meeting.
It was disclosed that the estimate for these 53 roads was Rs. 3,592 million and that multiple small-scale projects, each valued at less than Rs. 5 million, were created for a single road, resulting in 741 contracts awarded through limited bidding processes. It was further revealed that dividing the same road into multiple small projects costing under Rs. 5 million allowed the projects to be implemented with the approval of the then Director General of the Provincial Road Development Authority.
Moreover, it was noted that these projects had been distributed among only seven contractors without a public tender process. One of these contractors had received 629 projects (covering 42 roads) worth Rs. 2,934 million. Officials stated that based on the contractor's financial capacity and experience, contracts worth only Rs. 300-600 million should have been awarded. It was also discussed that this contracting company was linked to a politician who held power in the North Central Province at the time.
Accordingly, it was revealed that payments of up to Rs. 45 million had been made for 1 km of road that would typically cost around Rs. 11 million, indicating severe corruption. Despite such large expenditures, the roads had deteriorated quickly due to substandard construction.
The main official involved in this incident, who served as the Acting General Manager of the Provincial Road Development Authority at the time, is now deceased. It was further revealed that he had previously served at the Mahaweli Authority and had been dismissed due to allegations of treasure hunting. Additionally, officials who opposed these corrupt activities faced various hardships, and the General Manager of the Provincial Road Development Authority appointed thereafter was sent on retirement in 2015 by the then Chief Minister of the province due to rejecting payments to these contractors.
Officials of the Finance Commission also pointed out that allocating such a large amount of funds to a Provincial Council for road development itself was problematic. It was discussed that this situation arose due to the influence of the Minister of Economic Development at that time.
The COPA Chair stated that it was deeply regrettable that the tax money of hardworking farmers in the North Central Province had been defrauded in this manner, and described this incident as one of the most corrupt events in the country’s road development history. Accordingly, the committee recommended identifying the officials involved and taking necessary steps to recover the misappropriated funds. It was also recommended to lodge complaints with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Criminal Investigation Department, and to submit a report regarding the political authority involved in this incident.
Attention was also drawn to an agreement made in 2017 with a construction company to build an auditorium for Palugasdamana Maha Vidyalaya for Rs. 542,019,300 (Rs. 542 million). It was revealed that although an advance of Rs. 100 million had been paid to the contractor, the construction had been abandoned at the initial stage. It was discussed that allocating such a large amount of funds without any feasibility study to a school with less than 500 students was unjustifiable, and that the decision had been made solely based on the then Chief Minister of the North Central Province. Furthermore, it was discussed that the contractor had close ties with the political authority.
The committee recommended that an investigation be carried out into the officials involved in this now-defunct project and that necessary actions be taken to recover the funds if any misconduct is found. The officials were instructed to submit a report regarding this matter within three weeks.
Hon. Members of Parliament Dr. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, Sagarika Athauda, Attorney at Law, Oshani Umanga, Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law, T.K. Jayasundara, Susantha Kumara Nawarathna, Sunil Rathnasiri, and Dinindu Saman Hennayake participated in the COPA meeting held.
2025-07-28
The proposed Education Reform Plan was taken into discussion at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Manpower and Human Capital. The discussions were held when the Committee met on the Jul. 25th at Parliament, under the chairmanship of Hon. Hesha Withanage, Member of Parliament. Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training, Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, representatives of the National Education Commission, the Director General of the National Institute of Education, along with several other senior officials of the Ministry of Education, participated in this meeting. The Ministry officials explained in detail to the Committee the steps taken to prepare the proposed Education Reform Plan and also presented the steps taken in the past in this regard. The Chair of the Committee stated that experts from relevant sectors who have been involved in reforming the education sector in the past are expected to be consulted to examine the proposed Education Reform Plan more comprehensively. He further stated that the full support of the Committee will be extended to ensure the proper implementation of the Education Reform Plan. Committee Members also emphasized the need for properly structuring the syllabus when implementing reforms in the education sector and pointed out the factors that should be considered in that regard. Meanwhile, the attention of the Sectoral Oversight Committee was also drawn to the Samurdhi (Amendment) Bill. The Committee inquired into the operations of the Samurdhi Bank, and the relevant approval was granted to present the said Bill to Parliament for the Second Reading. Hon. Members of Parliament Sunil Rajapaksha, Chanaka Madugoda, Thurairasa Ravikaran, Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney at Law, and Krishnan Kalaichelvi participated in this Committee meeting.
2025-07-28
A working Committee was appointed pertaining to the future activities of the Parliamentary Caucus on Arts and Cultural Affairs, established for the Tenth Parliament. The purpose of this working Committee is to implement the programmes expected to be carried out by the Caucus for the advancement of the arts and cultural sectors of the country and to obtain ideas and proposals from experts and scholars in the respective fields for that purpose. Hon. Members of Parliament Prof. Sena Nanayakkara, Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Hiruni Wijesinghe, Attorney-at-Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law, Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Susantha Dodawatta, Attorney-at-Law, Ruwan Mapalagama, and Dinesh Hemantha were appointed as members of this Committee. These appointments were made during the meeting of the Parliamentary Caucus on Arts and Cultural Affairs, held recently (Jul. 22) in Parliament, under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Jagath Manuwarna, Chair of the Caucus. At this meeting, lengthy discussions were held regarding the steps that could be taken to uplift the cultural, literary, and arts sectors of the country, to promote the development of artists and professionals engaged in those fields, and on the necessity of fostering an interest among the general public and children in art appreciation. It was also proposed by the Member MPs that programmes should be initiated to create awareness among Members of Parliament and the parliamentary staff regarding the Parliamentary Caucus on Arts and Cultural Affairs. Hon. Members of Parliament Prof. Sena Nanayakkara, Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Hiruni Wijesinghe, Attorney-at-Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law, Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Susantha Dodawatta, Attorney-at-Law, Ruwan Mapalagama, and Dinesh Hemantha were present at this Committee meeting held.
2025-07-28
The recommendations of the Committee on High Posts, which met on the July 24th at Parliament approved the appointments of 5 new Ambassadors, a High Commissioner, and a Secretary to the Ministry. Accordingly, Miss. Sumadhurika Sashikala Premawardhane as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Indonesia, Mrs. C.A. Chaminda Inoka Colonne as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Federative Republic of Brazil, Mr. Mohamed Rizvi Hassen as the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Maldives, Mr. L.R.M.N.P.G.B. Kadurugamuwa as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Turkey, Mrs. Ruwanthi Delpitiya as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Nepal, and Mr. Marimuththu K. Pathmanaathan as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of South Korea have been recomended by the Committee on High Posts. Furthermore, the name of Miss. Ayesha Jinasena (PC) has also been recommended by the Committee on High Posts for the appointment as the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration. The Committee on High Posts, chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, comprised of the following Members of Parliament: Hon. Kumara Jayakody, Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha, Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney at Law, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, Hon. (Mrs.) Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Hon. (Dr.) Hansaka Wijemuni, Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law, and Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC.
2025-07-28
No shortage of very essential medical items – Ministry of Health officials The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Health, Media and Women's Empowerment inquired into the medicine shortage and related matters at the Committee meeting held recently (Jul. 23), under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Nihal Abeysinghe. Officials from the Ministry of Health informed the Committee that the current shortage of medicines has arisen due to delays in placing orders in previous years. However, they assured the Committee that procurement process for the year 2026 has already taken commenced, and there will be no shortage in 2026. They further stated that by the end of this year, 80% to 90% of essential medicine items are expected to be available in the country. In response to an inquiry made by the Committee regarding the availability of very essential medical items, the Ministry officials confirmed that there is no shortage of such items at present. Furthermore, the Committee also considered and approved the Annual Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation of Sri Lanka, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, the Sri Lanka Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation, and the Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital. While reviewing these reports, the Committee raised concerns over unresolved audit queries related to these institutions. The Committee Chair recommended that an internal review mechanism be established within the Ministry to ensure timely and appropriate responses to audit observations. Hon. Deputy Minister Muneer Mulaffer, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Dayasiri Jayasekara, Amirthanathan Adaikkalanathan, (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna, Samanmali Gunasingha, (Prof.) Sena Nanayakkara, (Dr.) S. Sri Bavanandarajah and Jagath Manuwarna were present at the Committee meeting. Officials representing the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, including Secretary to the Ministry Dr. Anil Jasinghe, also participated in the meeting.
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